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Silver Sable & Black Cat's Movie Villains Explained

Despite Spidey coming back to Marvel and leading to the massive success of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Sony Pictures is still dead set on exercising their rights to around 900 Marvel Comics characters. Earlier this year, the entertainment world was thrown for a loop when the studio announced plans to make a Venom film that appears to exist outside of the current MCU and Spider-Man universe. Even more perplexing, they’ll also pair Black Cat and Silver Sable together for an anti-hero buddy film simply titled Silver & Black.

Though Black Cat is fairly well-known as a Spider-Man antagonist and occasional love interest, Silver Sable is a bit more obscure. Even for comic fans, she hasn’t been a very prominent character since her heyday in the ‘90s. Still, Sony hopes director Gina Prince-Bythewood and the story of two damaged women walking the hero/villain line can bring something new to the superhero genre.

While casting and story details haven’t officially emerged, this week brought a flurry of reports about the plethora of other Marvel characters that will appear in the film. While a handful of them will be supporting heroes, the biggest news is that five supervillains from this rundown will be adapted for the new movie. One of them even has potential ties to Homecoming, further hinting at a connection between the spinoffs and the MCU. And while this news ignited fierce debate among comic fans, the average moviegoer may be less aware of these villains’ history.

Tombstone

New York crime boss Lonnie Lincoln is said to have a small but memorable role in Silver & Black. Better known as Tombstone, Lincoln will have a beef with Black Cat after she burglarizes the intimidating gangster. Though we’ve been hoping he’d have a bigger role in a future Spider-Man film, fans will be happy to learn Tombstone will keep his comic book appearance.

Tombstone first appeared in 1988’s Web of Spider-Man #36 as a mob enforcer and brutal killer. Born an albino, Lincoln spent his childhood in Harlem grooming himself to be a future crime boss. His tale even intersected with eventual Daily Bugle reporter Robbie Robertson, who nixed a story about Lincoln’s racketeering after being threatened by him.

As time went on, Robbie would become a reporter and colleague of Peter Parker’s while Lincoln would remake himself as Tombstone, even filing his teeth into points as a means of intimidation. As he climbed the criminal ladder, he also augmented his body to give himself ultra-durable skin and super-strength. As such, he’s a villain who walks the grounded/fantastical line, and one who would be perfect in the MCU or on Netflix. Hopefully, his time in Silver & Black not only does him justice but doesn’t rule him out for future use in a Marvel project.

Scorpion

More than any other character that’s set to appear in Silver & Black, Scorpion seems destined to show up in a future Spider-Man film. Not only is he one of Spidey’s most stalwart rogues, but Mac Gargan appears in Homecoming, complete with a scorpion neck tattoo. While his part is small, his interaction with Vulture during the mid-credits scene heavily hints he’ll be returning to the MCU.

It’s unknown if the version of the character we meet in Silver & Black will be played by Michael Mando or even be Mac Gargan, but if he is, then the MCU and Sony spinoffs may be much more connected than we’ve been led to believe. Either way, it looks like Scorpion’s most iconic attributes will be on display in Sony’s film.

Gargan first appeared in 1964’s The Amazing Spider-Man #18 as a PI hired by J. Jonah Jameson to dig up dirt on Peter Parker and Spider-Man. After failing, the next issue saw JJJ using an experimental serum and exoskeleton to turn Gargan into the Scorpion. With almost all of Spidey’s powers and armor complete with a weaponized tail in place of web shooters, Scorpion has naturally been causing Spidey trouble for decades. Gargan has even served as Venom for a time, something we could easily see happen in Sony’s universe.

According to the report about Silver & Black, Scorpion’s role will be small but he’ll appear a number of times in the film—including a huge battle at the end. He’ll also be featured in his signature suit, complete with tail, thanks to the mind of the movie’s big bad.